The Prime Minister on April 19 approved Decision 18, prescribing the import of used machinery, equipment and technological lines, which is designed to replace Circular 23 of 2015, issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST).

The green light for establishment of foreign-invested vocational education institutions in Vietnam was switched on under the 2014 Law on Vocational Education (the Law). However, more than four years after the Law came into force, foreign investment in vocational education remains difficult due to lack of regulations specifying conditions on establishment of foreign-invested vocational training schools in Vietnam.

Promotion means an act of commercial enhancement by a business entity aimed at boosting the sale of goods or the provision of services by giving specified benefits to customers. On May 22, 2018, the Goverment issued Decree 81/2018/ND-CP on commercial enhancement activities. Decree 81 took effect on July 15, 2018. New provisions on promotion in Decree 81 compared to previous regulations aim to create favorable conditions for business entities.

Science and technology enterprises will be soon provided with a raft of attractive tax, credit and land incentives, following a decree recently issued by the Government.

Vietnam will strive to increase its international rankings in terms of business environment and competitiveness in order to adapt itself to the new production system in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, according to a resolution adopted by the Government on the first day of 2019.

Since the National Assembly’s Resolution 42/2017/QH14 on the pilot settlement of bad debts of credit institutions was adopted on June 21, 2017, the bad debt settlement, particularly collateral foreclosure[1], by credit institutions and foreign bank branches in the country has seen some improvements. Aimed at addressing inadequacies of the precedent regulations on disposal of collaterals of bad debts, this Resolution itself contains some ambiguous points that need to be clarified.

The Strategy for development of the banking sector up to 2030 has been recently approved by the Prime Minister, setting forth major objectives for operations of the credit institution system as well as state management responsibilities of the State Bank. Below is an interview granted by Deputy Governor of the State Bank Nguyen Kim Anh to Thoi bao Ngan hang (Banking Times) about the Strategy.

Vietnam should have proper management policies on import and treatment of waste paper, according to a seminar held by The Vietnam Pulp and Paper Association (VPPA) and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) on October 16 in Hanoi.

Guarantees are the most common type of personal security recognized by the general law of security. Security is notably used in the context of corporate financing. Civil Code No. 91/2015/QH13 dated November 24, 2015 contains various new rules on this security interest. This article is confined to an overview of guarantees from practice, dealing with suretyship guarantee which denotes a guarantee triggered by default on the part of the principal debtor, by way of contrast to (first) demand guarantee which denotes an independent undertaking to pay as widely used in international commerce.

The first half of 2018 saw great efforts of the Vietnamese Government in realizing its commitments to building market economy institutions in the country, especially removing legal hurdles for businesses. There have emerged some positive, significant “institutional reform” trends which are highlighted below.